Expansion bracelet with two rows of bottom links



Feb. 5, 1957 J. F. SAND 2,780,052

EXPANSION BRACELET WITH TWO ROWS OF BOTTOM LINKS Filed May 10. 1952 FIG-3.

l i/ //j M will x. W6 w United States EXPANSION BRACELET WITH TWO ROWS F BOTTOM LINKS Application May 10, 1952, Serial No. 287,151

2 Claims. (Cl. 59-79) This invention relates to expansion bracelets, and more particularly to such bracelets as are used for wrist watches.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of an improved expansion bracelet having a novel arrangement of top and bottom links without any center pivots as between the top and bottom links; the provision of an expansion bracelet wherein the link arrangement is such as to allow the bracelet to be made as a pierced bracelet, i. e., a bracelet having ventilating holes for more rapid evaporation of perspiration from the wrist under the bracelet; and the provision of an expansion bracelet which is stronger than prior crossedlink types. Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a bracelet of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragment of Fig. 2 with parts broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 4- is a bottom plan view of the Fig. 1 bracelet portion in an expanded position;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the Fig. 1 bracelet portion in an expanded position;

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective illustrating the assembly of certain parts of the bracelet;

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective illustrating the assembly of other parts of the bracelet; and,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, an expansion bracelet of this invention is shown to comprise a series of identical top links each generally designated 1. Each top link is connected to the adjacent top link on one side by a pair of bottom links 3 in a four-bar linkage and to the adjacent top link on the other side by another pair of bottom links 3 in a four-bar linkage. The term four-bar linkage is used in its kinematic sense. More particularly, each four-bar linkage is a parallelogram linkage. The bracelet is provided with spring means, to be more particularly described, acting on the links biasing them to a contracted position (Figs. 1 and 2) in which the top links are positioned side-by-side with their ends aligned along the side edges of the bracelet.

Each top link 1 comprises a skeleton top link member 5 (see particularly Figs. 6 and 7) consisting of a long narrow sheet metal stamping having a length corresponding to the desired width for the bracelet. Member 5, as herein illustrated, is generally of long narrow rectangular stem 0 ice,

outline in plan, except that it is centrally constricted as indicated at 7 to provide cut-outs 9 in its opposite sides, and has notches 11 and 13 in its sides at its corners. Notches 11 are at two diagonally opposite corners, and notches 13 are (at the other two diagonally opposite corners.

In stamping the skeleton link member 5, it is formed with a first inner pivot 15 and a first outer pivot 17 on one side of the center of the member, and also with a second inner pivot 19 and a second outer pivot 21 on the other side of the center of the member. All these pivots project from the side of the member 5 which becomes its bottom in the assembled bracelet. The pivots 15 and 19, which are referred to as inner pivots because they are located toward the center of the member 5, are stamped as tubular bosses. The pivots 17 and 21, which are referred to as outer pivots because they are outward from the center with respect to pivots 15 and 19, are tongues bent to extend at right angles to the plane of member 5 adjacent the two diagonally opposite corners of the member in the notches 13.

Each top link also includes a top shell 23 having a top wall 25 which corresponds in outline to the outline of member 5' and having a depending peripheral flange 27 provided with bendable ears 29 and 31 receivable in the corner notches 11 and 13 of member 5. In the assembly of the bracelet, the member 5 is abutted against the rim of the flange 27, ears 29 being located in notches 11 and ears 31 in notches 13, with pivots 15, 17, 19 and 21 projecting outward from the shell, and the ears are then bent inw ard under the member 5 to hold the parts assembled.

Each bottom link 3 comprises a skeleton link member 33 (see particularly Fig. 6) consisting of a sheet metal stamping having openings 35 and 37 at its ends and bentup ears 39 on its sides. Opening 35 is of such diameter as to receive an inner pivot or tubular boss 15 or 19 and opening 37 is of such diameter as to .receive an outer pivot or tongue 17 or 21. When two top links are arranged in side-by-side engagement, the axis of the first outer pivot of one link is spaced from. the axis of the first inner pivot of the other link and the axis of the second inner pivot of the one link is spaced from the axis of the second outer pivot of the other link a distance corresponding to the spacing of the centers of openings 35 and 37.

Each bottom link also includes a bottom shell 41 having a bottom wall 43 slightly larger in outline than the member 27 and a peripheral flange 45 provided with bendable ears 47. In the assembly of the bracelet, the member 33 is located within the bottom shell 41 to the point where the ends of ears 39 engage the inside of the shell bottom wall 43 and the ears 47 are bent inward over member 33 to hold the parts assembled.

In the manufacture of the bracelet, a skeleton linkage is first made by assembling a series of the skeleton top link members 5 and skeleton bottom link members 33. This is accomplished by laying out a series of members 5 side-by-side and then applying bottom link members 33 in such a way that any given top link member 5 is connected to the next successive top link member 5, in one direction along the length of the series (right to left as viewed in Pig. 3), by a first bottom link member 33 extending between the first outer pivot 17 of a given member 5 and the first inner pivot 15 of the next top link member 5 and by a second bottom link member 33 extending between the second inner pivot 1 of the given top link member 5 and the second outer pivot 21 of the next top link member 5. The inner pivots 15 and 19, which are received in the openings 35 in the bottom link members 33, are then headed over as indicated at 49 in Fig. 8, and the outer pivots 17 and 21, which are received in the openings 37 in the bottom link members 33, are headed over as indicated at 17a and 21a in Fig. 3 to hold the link members in assembly as the skeleton bracelet.

A spring 51 is then inserted in each of the hollow inner pivots 15 and 19. Each spring is a helical coil spring having upper and lower laterally extending ends 53 and 55. As any given spring is lodged in a pivot 15 or 19, its lower end 55 extends between the ears 39 on the bottom link member 33 connected to the pivot, and its upper end 53 overlies the top link member as illustrated in Fig. 7. After the springs have been assembled with the skeleton linkage the top and bottom shells 23 and 41 are applied. In the resultant assembly, the upper ends of the springs react against the peripheral flanges 27 of the top shells as abutments, and the lower ends of the springs react against ears 39 of the bottom link members 33 as abutments.

The springs bias the links to the contracted position shown in Figs. 1'3 wherein the top links 1 are side-by-side and positioned at right angles to the length of the bracelet. In this position, the cut-outs 9 provide unobstructed ventilating holes. When the bracelet is stretched as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the top links all become inclined, remaining parallel to one another, however, and the springs 51 are all wound. if desired, stronger springs may be used toward the ends of the bracelet than in the center portion of the bracelet so that if there is any considerable stretch as worn on the wrist, the links at the ends of the bracelet where it is attached to the watch will be closed.

The absence of center pivots as between the top and bottom links makes possible the pierced or ventilating bracelet construction and also makes possible the manufacture of the bracelet in different designs not possible when center pivots are used. In addition, the bracelet of this invention is stronger than prior crossed-link bracelets with center pivots because, with the two pivots outward from the center, instead of a single center pivot, there is less leverage.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. An expansible bracelet comprising a series of top links each comprising a sheet metal skeleton link member having a length corresponding to the width of the bracelet and having projecting from its bottom a first inner pivot and a first outer pivot on one side of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet and a second inner pivot and a second outer pivot on the other side of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet, the inner pivots being integral tubular bosses and the outer pivots being integral tongues, each top link further comprising a top shell secured upon the skeleton link member, any given top link being connected to the next successive top link, in one direction along the length of the bracelet, by a first bottom link extending between the first outer pivot of the given top link and the first inner pivot of the next top link and by a second bottom link extending between the second inner pivot of the given top link and the second outer pivot of the next top link, each bottom link comprising a sheet metal skeleton link member having openings at its ends receiving the respective pivots, the latter being headed to hold the links in assembly, each bottom link further comprising a bottom shell secured to the bottom skeleton link member, and helical coil springs lodged in the tubular bosses, the upper end of each spring extending into the respective top shell and the lower end of each spring extending into the respective bottom shell.

2. An expansible bracelet comprising a series of top links each having projecting from its bottom a first inner pivot and a first outer pivot on one side of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet and a second inner pivot and a second outer pivot on the other side of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet, any given top link being connected to the next successive top link in the series in one direction along the length of the bracelet, by a first bottom link extending between the first outer pivot of the given top link and the first inner pivot of the next top link and terminating short of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet and by a second bottom link extending between the second inner pivot of the given top link and the second outer pivot of the next top link and terminating short of the longitudinal center line of the bracelet, and spring means acting on the links biasing them to a contracted position in which the top links are positioned side-by-side with their ends aligned along the side edges of the bracelet, the bottom links lying wholly under the top links and thereby being wholly concealed when the links are in said contracted position, the top links being constricted intermediate their inner pivots so that the contracted bracelet has a series of holes therein for ventilation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 164,791 Meyerson Oct. 9, 1951 2,388,554 Kreisler et al. Nov. 6, 1945 2,445,004 Reynolds July 13, 1948 2,564,652 Templeman Aug. 14, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 628,966 France July 12, 1927 

